DeLeina, Maya - Veil of Seduction [Ambrose Heights Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Maya DeLeina Read Free Book Online Page A

cry.
    “No, Mrs. Evans. I’m talking about your sister…Anise,” the detective said. “I truly apologize to have to inform you of this news in this manner, but we feel that immediate notification to family members may help with leads in the case and we’re in need of a positive ID on her belongings.”
    The line went silent for a few seconds.
    “You thought I was about to refer to your husband? Is something wrong with your husband, Ryan Evans?”
    “He left me. Abandoned me, just a few weeks ago, without warning. Actually, it looks like he had been planning it for months and I just never…” Anya started to ramble and caught herself. “Anyway, I thought…Never mind.”
    When the detective’s words finally registered, Anya lowered herself to the barstool at the kitchen island.
    “Anise? What is going on? You said body ? What happened?”
    “Mrs. Evans, when did you last talk to your sister?”
    “Anise and I have not spoken since after my husb—” Anya corrected herself. “I mean, Ryan and I kicked her out of our home over a year ago.”
    “Mrs. Evans, I would like you to come down to the office for an interview process as standard procedure in any active case. There’s a lot more I would like to go over with you.”
     

Chapter Five
     
    Anya sat motionless in her chair.
    Inside, her thoughts were restless, searching for answers. As if the state of her marriage and finances hadn’t given her enough to consume her thoughts, her mind was now in a free fall. It was like adding another rung or two to the ladder that ascended from grief and depression, the ladder she had been trying to scale since her parents’ deaths.
    With swollen, cried-out eyes, Anya took in her surroundings.
    Everything about the place was harsh. The white walls glared with unflattery, the plastic chairs uninviting, the scuffed linoleum floors lent to the unsightly decor, and the room sat at a frigid-cold temperature.
    She couldn’t help but to make the comparison.
    The precinct’s reception area was worse than that of a hospital waiting room. At least the hospital had the occasional magazine and wall art to admire, a trail of medicinal disinfectant to linger over. Here, no style, no charm, and no life existed. Everything was stark. How hard was it to spruce up the area, give it a little character, a plant here, a decorative dish there?
    This was the last place on earth she wanted to be.
    Without a doubt, the waiting triggered it. Anya’s unoccupied moment allowed her thoughts rampant and cyclical, eating at her core. She had wished to stay numb to everything, at least for the time being, but her mind didn’t afford her any leeway in deadening her full-fledged reality. With Anise now gone, she had no family, no identity. Her life was the epitome of emptiness. She gripped the arms of the chair in attempt to compose herself as it hit her.
    Her surroundings were a direct reflection of her life.
    “Mrs. Evans?” a receptionist greeted Anya “I will take you back now.”
    The receptionist led her through a maze of hallways, doors, and offices to the glass door entrance of the Violent Crimes unit. As they made their way to Detective Doyle’s office, Anya glanced into a room that projected Anise’s driver license on the overhead screen. She couldn’t help but notice the stares from the people in the room, as if she’d interrupted their discussion.
    “Have a seat.” The receptionist motioned to the chair that sat in front of the desk. “Detective Doyle will be in momentarily.”
    Merely seconds after the receptionist left the room, Detective Doyle stepped through the door.
    Anya stood and turned around to greet the detective.
    Their eyes met and the detective let out a gasp. With a bombshell look in her eye, the detective took in a deep breath, delving deeper into her examination of Anya.
    “I’m sorry. It didn’t dawn on me to mention that we are…or were…identical twins,” confessed Anya, realizing her resemblance to her